R.E.M. - Around The Sun (2004) WMA320

If you're among the millions who think R.E.M. peaked in '92 with "Automatic For The People", and that everything since has been an intermittently interesting but ultimately fruitless search for a new sound, then this album might appeal to you more than the last few. It's slick, lyrical, often radio-friendly, but has enough political edginess and lump-in-the-throat moments to be credible nonetheless. That's the cynical review, I guess. But this isn't some finely calibrated attempt at re-entering the mainstream. R.E.M. has long been characterized by a steadfast refusal to rest in a certain style. Each album has offered a departure from the last, sometimes a radical one - their breakthrough album, "Out of Time", was itself a bizarre detour. This time around, they've given the tracks a kind of folk-electronica lushness; tricked them out with keyboards and drum machines and pushed Peter Buck's guitars into the background for a change. There's also a renewed confidence and clarity in Stipe's foregrounded voice. Lyrically, there's an engaging fusion of the personal and political, with the themes of relationship breakdown (or false start) and self-discovery frequently doing double duty as political metaphors. It's refreshing that on an album full of love/hate songs and political musings R.E.M. hasn't just fallen back into what would have been the easy options - the chamber-pop aesthetic of "Automatic" or the rattling righteousness of "Document".

It isn't a total success, however. In some cases, the mix has dulled the passion and buffed off too many rough edges, almost to the point of inanity. "The Outsiders", while lyrically sinister, is too smooth to really get under your skin. "Aftermath", which might have been as crisp and joyous as any R.E.M. classic, is too flat to be uplifting - Bill Berry and Scott Litt are sorely missed on tracks like this. "High Speed Train" sounds more like a lumbering bulldozer with Stipe asleep at the wheel. But overall, the good outweighs the bad. On the best tracks - the beautiful "Leaving New York", the brooding and insistent "Final Straw" (pick of the album, for me), the eloquently savage "I Wanted To Be Wrong", and the wonderfully weird "The Ascent of Man" - the richness of the arrangements and Pat McCarthy's intelligent production values achieve an adult sophistication entirely appropriate to the song's themes. These aren't just college boys ranting anymore. If you want that, go buy "American Idiot" (which I love, by the way). R.E.M. have increasingly subtle and sophisticated things to say, and they've found a surprising and beautiful way of saying them.

This isn't the '80s flashback R.E.M.'s long-suffering original fans might have been anticipating on the strength of recent releases such as "Bad Day" and "Animal", but for those willing to give it the time and attention it demands, "Around The Sun" is a nonetheless rewarding album.

by Steve Reynolds

TRACKLIST:

01 - Leaving New York.wma
02 - Electron Blue.wma
03 - The Outsiders.wma
04 - Make It All Okay.wma
05 - Final Straw.wma
06 - I Wanted To Be Wrong.wma
07 - Wanderlust.wma
08 - Boy In The Well.wma
09 - Aftermath.wma
10 - High Speed Train.wma
11 - The Worst Joke Ever.wma
12 - The Ascent Of Man.wma
13 - Around The Sun.wma

WMA 320Kbps 44100Hz STEREO

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